Vinegar Chicken Legs
This classic French dish features red wine vinegar, which is added during the deglazing step. This technique incorporates the cooking juices from the chicken to concentrate the flavours. The result is a very tasty sauce in which the vinegar, reduced almost to dry, is very subtle. Adding cream at the end of cooking helps to […]
Ingredients
- 4 chicken legs, with or without the skin, thighs and drumsticks separated
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) tomato paste
- 1 cup (250 ml) chicken broth
- 1/2 lb (225 g) white mushrooms, halved
- 1 tomato, blanched, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) 35 % cream
- 1 tsp chopped tarragon
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or in a large oven-proof pot, brown the chicken on both sides in half of the oil (1 tbsp/15 ml) over medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside on a plate. Remove any remaining oil from the pot.
- In the same pot over medium heat, lightly brown the onion and garlic in the remaining oil. Deglaze with the vinegar and let reduce until almost dry. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute while stirring. Add the broth, mushrooms, tomato and chicken. Bring to a boil.
- Cover and cook over low heat for 50 minutes or until the meat falls easily off the bone, spooning the sauce to cover the chicken halfway through cooking.
- Transfer the chicken pieces to a plate and set aside. Using a small ladle, remove the fat from the surface of the sauce. Pour in the cream. Bring to a boil and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Adjust the seasoning.
- Return the chicken to the pot to reheat and to coat in the sauce. Garnish with the tarragon. Serve with mashed potatoes and greens.
This classic French dish features red wine vinegar, which is added during the deglazing step. This technique incorporates the cooking juices from the chicken to concentrate the flavours. The result is a very tasty sauce in which the vinegar, reduced almost to dry, is very subtle. Adding cream at the end of cooking helps to thicken the sauce as well as mellow and bind the flavours. Tarragon, added just before serving, adds a fresh note to each bite. This was the first recipe Ricardo cooked on the CBC, in Regina in 1991!